When you assume you make...

     I know I said that last Monday we were going to pick up the new truck...and I was pretty sure that's what we were going to do.  As it turned out all we picked up was a lesson in assumption, and you know what that can get you.  It seems that Panama has made great strides toward assuring that all drivers in this country have liability insurance and that cars and trucks are properly registered.   One way that they accomplish this is to make you wait for a new car, even if you pay cash, until all the insurance paperwork is filed and the plates are on the car.  For us that means that next Monday, not last Monday,  is the pickup day.  For those who are curious, I've included a picture I got off the internet of just what the truck looks like.  You can't get one of these in the States, but I fell in love last year and have wanted one ever since.  You can't pick up  chicks with one of these, but that's not my game right now.  What you can do is put three adults comfortably in the back seat, and still have a six foot bed in the back.  The back wheels are all under the bed, and all three sides drop down...like an old VW or a Greenbrier.  The result is plenty of passenger room, great visibility, and  great cargo room in the back.  I might add that it's a 2.7 liter diesel with a high-low four wheel drive, so it'll go just about anywhere we want to go. Diesel is about $3.65 a gallon here now, so economy comes into play as well.  Right now we're waiting patiently for Monday...it's easy to do here.  The rain has finally come for today and that's cooling things off.   For now I ride my bike for an hour in the morning, we get a little sun before noon, and watch the rain in the afternoon, but come next week we'll have some wheels and there will be more to come in Mike and Sandy's Excellent Adventures in Panama!